Opening circle without seats

[Lisa Heft]

Hi, Csaba -

I have had (for example) 850 students in a sports hall, where chairs  
were not allowed on the lovely floor.

I do not think concentric circles are required - even though that is  
something I try for in other situations.  However as we have shared on  
this list over the years - a circle feeling / formation / presence /  
indication and working 'in the round' is essential.  I agree with  
Barry that you can mark the open space in the center or have  
volunteers standing on the (their bodies create it) outline of that  
free space in the center, to indicate and inform that people entering  
the room are invited to be seated (outside / around that shape). You  
do the same thing for Closing Circle comments and reflection.

Csaba - I do not know if your space is similar to other athletic hall  
spaces however I find that in a gymnasium or similar space **sound**  
and **visibility** and **agenda wall space** are the main issues.

- sound sounds like it is coming from everywhere

- when someone stands to name a topic, visibility for them and sound  
are important because the space plays with sound. If people are seated  
(therefore very low) and a bunch of people are standing waiting to  
announce their topic - that may block everyone's vision and it may be  
hard for them to focus on the topic convenors' words (given the sound  
issue).  So you might consider having the topic convenors announce at  
a place at the edge of the circle (or two places opposite, with  
microphones?) in an aisle so the line of people ready to announce goes  
down the aisle instead of inside the circle in front of all viewers.

- If you do decide to set up two announcing stations instead of one,  
and because the sound in a sports hall can come over big speakers  
therefore sounds like it is coming from everywhere, you might do  
something to physically / visually indicate (say, if you have two  
positions from where people are announcing their topics) who is  
currently speaking. Again: this can help the focus in such a space -  
for example you (in the center) could turn to and indicate whoever  
speaks next so the audience can get that sense better.

- Agenda Wall can be hung or placed but sometimes sports hall walls  
are not as welcoming to tape and sometimes the halls themselves are  
more humid which is also not so good for tape - so it is a good thing  
to investigate

Most of all, I may be sharing these ideas based on my own experiences  
but of course your sports hall, your own style or experiences may lead  
you to do it differently. These are just some things I have noticed in  
a gymnasium / sports hall environment.

One other thing - you may not know who in your group of 270-300  
students has visible or invisible physical disabilities - and when we  
think of students sitting on the ground, it usually feels right and  
good. Ideally, if people pre-register you can ask a question in the  
registration process about whether people have any food needs or  
mobility or other access issues and mention that seating for most  
people will be directly on the floor. If you cannot do this, it might  
be great idea for your lovely volunteers (or you, if you area team of  
one) to mark some very clear aisles (any certain kind of tape on the  
floor allowed?) for access, notice as people come in if there are  
people with wheelchairs or crutches and so on - where would they go?  
Perhaps a mat on the floor in one section designated for disability  
access, with a few folding chairs on that or room for wheelchairs?

It both helps the people with diverse physical abilities and offers  
the awareness moment to the rest of the student group.
Just an idea.

Cheers from a star-filled early California morning,
Lisa


Lisa Heft
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
Opening Space
lisaheft at openingspace.net
www.openingspace.net

Ask me about the The Power of Pre-Work workshop for facilitators - 
August 18-20, 2010 - San Francisco
and the Open Space Learning Workshops - October 15-18, 2010 -  
Medellin, Colombia and December 15-17, 2010 - San Francisco

Join me on OSLIST - the World Open Space community in conversation  
(English) http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
and at the Open Space World Community space (all languages) http://openspaceworld.ning.com



On Jul 17, 2010, at 2:23 AM, Csaba Lengyel wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> We will facilitate an OST event of 270-300 students in a sports  
> hall, where it is not possible to bring in chairs. Here comes a  
> question, how can we set up the opening circle? Participants will  
> sit on the floor (they are fine with that), but how can we make sure  
> that they actually for concentric circles?
>
> Have you had any similar experience? Or have you got just some idea,  
> how to solve this issue?
>
> Thank you in advance!
>
> Csaba




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